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PDC
A point defense cannon (PDC)' '''is a rapid-fire projectile weapon used by all military-grade spaceships for defense against small ships and missiles. Specs PDCs are gatling turrets, utilizing a set of six spinning barrels to spew out thousands of rounds per minute to intercept incoming ordinance. They come in sets to cover all angles with overlapping fields of fire, providing a "curtain of steel" to more easily and effectively take out missiles. PDCs are likely computer-controlled, as even juiced-up human gunners would find it nearly impossible to effectively track and destroy fast targets like torpedoes. The cannon turrets can also be retracted into the hull and can extend outwards in mere seconds. PDCs are largely for use against ordinance, but they also perform fairly well as CQB ship-to-ship weapons and can be used for direct space-to-surface strikes on personnel. The rounds seem able to pierce most ship hulls. Ships equipped with PDCs: Martian Congressional Republic Navy * [[Donnager-class|''Donnager-class]] battleship: multiple turrets * ''Scirocco''-class assault cruiser: 12 PDCs * ''Raptor''-class fast-attack-cruiser: multiple turrets * ''Morrigan''-class patrol destroyer: 2 PDCs * ''Frigate''-class frigate: multiple turrets * ''Corvette''-class fast-attack-frigate: 6 PDCs United Nations Navy * ''Xerxes''-class battleship: multiple turrets * ''Truman''-class dreadnought: 42 PDCs * ''Leonidas''-class battleship: 25 PDCs * ''Munroe''-class destroyer: multiple turrets * ''Phantom''-class corvette: Multiple turrets Outer Planets Alliance * ''Behemoth''-class dreadnought: 170 PDCs Protogen * ''Amun-Ra''-class stealth frigate: 4 PDCs Appearances PDCs first come into use on the [[Donnager|MCRN Donnager]], which uses her numerous PDCs to shoot down a hail of plasma torpedoes launched by an attacking squadron of stealth ships. While most of the torpedoes were shot down, the advanced guidance systems of the torpedoes, as well as their numbers, allowed two to get through and damage the Donnager's reactor. In the ensuing CQB battle, Donnager used focused fire from her PDCs to destroy at least one assailant. As the Tachi (later to be named Rocinante) escaped the Donnager's hangar bay, under a hail of small arms fire, it returned fire with its PDCs to wipe out many boarders and blow open the hangar door, allowing the ship to escape. During the Massacre of Anderson station, Fred Johnson ordered the UNN Nathan Hale to open up on the station with its PDCs, depressurizing the station and killing everyone onboard. At the assault on Thoth Station, Rocinante's PDCs were used to intercept torpedoes, destroy an anti-asteroid cannon on the station, and even take out the far better-equipped stealth ship by riddling it with thousands of holes at point blank. The enemy also used their PDCs to disable one of Rocinante's port-side thrusters, hampering her maneuverability during the battle until Amos repaired the damage. During the sudden and unexpected Ganymede Incident, due to the close proximity and chaos of the incident PDCs were used as the main weapon between MCRN and UNN ships engaging in combat in Ganymede's orbit, destroying ships on both sides as well as several orbital structures, resulting in a cloud of debris falling to Ganymede's surface and the loss of thousands of military personnel. When the Nauvoo was recovered, Johnson had it renamed the OPAS Behemoth, and in addition to attaching several missile pods and railgun turrets, an incredible 170 PDCs were mounted to the ship's 2km hulk, giving it impenetrable defensive coverage to compensate for the ship's enormous target profile. Known Models Mikazuki Munitions PDC A type of PDC manufactured by Mikazuki Munitions that is used by some older UNN warships. The ''Leonidas''-class battleship is equipped with a staggering 25 Mikazuki Munitions PDCs spread across the surface of its hull for maximum defensive coverage to compensate for their reduced accuracy as a result of the warship's low quality targeting suites. Nariman Dynamics 40mm PDC A type of PDC manufactured by Nariman Dynamics that is used by most MCRN warships. The ''Morrigan''-class patrol destroyer is equipped with 2 retractable Nariman Dynamics 40mm PDCs on its dorsal hull. Twelve of these guns are employed on the ''Scirocco''-class assault cruiser. Redfield Ballistics 40mm PDC A type of PDC manufactured by Redfield Ballistics that is used by some UNN warships. The ''Truman''-class dreadnought is equipped with 42 Redfield Ballistics 40mm PDCs spread across the surface of its hull for maximum defensive coverage with 4 mounted on either side of the bow, 28 on the neck, and 6 at the ends of the engines. Kess-Hashari PDC A type of PDC manufactured by Kess-Hashari. The Outer Planets Alliance's retrofitted dreadnought OPAS ''Behemoth'' is equipped with a total of 170 of these weapons to compensate for its large target profile and poor maneuverability. Bush Shipyard Hypercooled PDC PDC turrets specifically designed by the Bush Naval Shipyard for Protogen's ''Amun-Ra''-class stealth frigates. Retractable into the hull, they were designed to be rapidly cooled to work with the ship's stealth tech. Trivia * PDC rounds are repeatedly described as "Teflon-coated tungsten". While not explained in detail in the books, this fact could make PDC rounds "armor-piercing sub-calibre ammunition;" a long narrow tungsten arrow acting as an armor breaking component, surrounded with light teflon-edged sabot, providing maximum barrel exit velocity. ** The teflon does not affect the ballistics of the round used, but rather allows for harder armor-piercing materials like tungsten to be used without excess barrel wear, as the teflon lubricates the bullet, allowing it to better engage the barrel without grinding it down. This would be a valuable trait in gatling ammunition, as with the very high rate of fire, harder AP ammunition would wear down the barrels quickly. * In the book, unguided weapons, like the PDC and railgun, are described as being viable only with ranges of less than 1000km. Given that PDC rounds are far slower than railgun slugs, their effective range thus is presumably much shorter than even that. Based on the length of ships like the Donnager compared to the visual range at which PDCs are used, this effective range seems to be between 1-5 km. Category:Military Category:Science & Technology Category:Spaceship Armament Category:Technology Category:Weapons Category:UN Navy Category:MCR Navy Category:Outer Planets Alliance